Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present today the first of a series of petitions collected by Kawartha Ploughshares, a peace group in my riding.
They point out that whereas sanctions, far from helping to destroy the oppressive government of Saddam Hussein, have actually strengthened it and destroyed any useful opposition since instead of struggling for their rights the civilian population has had to struggle for survival.
They therefore call on parliament to strongly appeal to the United Nations, the United States and Britain for a rejection of any further military action against Iraq and call for a serious attempt at peace negotiations with Iraq and its neighbours.